Catching up

May 16, 2006

At the same time we were posting an editorial lamenting the lateness of property tax bills in St. Joseph County, the county treasurer, Sean Coleman, was announcing that the bills would be sent shortly. The bills are expected to be mailed this week. Payment is due June 16. The best news is that the delay this spring in issuing property tax bills is not so great that it will create funding shortfalls for revenue recipients. That was our primary concern. Another concern was the uncertainty to which taxpayers have been subjected. There has been a lot of it, most of it beyond the control of the treasurer's office. When one doesn't know exactly what to expect, delays don't help. The good news is that a lot of useful information is being included in this year's bill. Taxpayers should find the answers to most of their questions on the documents. And best of all, the process for receiving and recording payments has been significantly streamlined this year. Payees can expect prompt posting of their payments in contrast to years past. Taxpayers can help by mailing their payments to the address provided rather than paying in person. That's what we're going to do, and what we encourage others to do, in an effort to help make the property taxpaying process as efficient as possible.